Easy Ways To Lower Your Utility Bills
Easy Ways to Lower Your Utility Bills
Next to rent, utility bills are one of the most significant expenses in any home. Research done by the US Energy Department shows that average family parts with at least $1,400 per year on utility bills alone. Well, you can easily make small changes around your house to lower your utility bill by up to 25% and save your precious money. Keep reading this article to learn some of the effective ways to reduce your utility bills.
Use smart power strips
Even after you switch off your electrical devices but leave them plugged in, there is bound to be some electricity that will leak. This leaking electricity is also known as vampire power or phantom power, accounting for up to 10% of your total utility bills. Since unplugging your electrical devices is still ineffective, you could use smart power strips, which cut off the electricity supply anytime you switch off the devices.
Spend less time in the shower
If you spend 8 minutes in the shower, you consume an average of 17.2 gallons of hot water. Cutting back to a two-minute shower would significantly reduce the amount of power and hot water you waste. Showering with hot water might be nice, but lowering your utility bills is even nicer.
Update your old HVAC system
Like all other electrical devices in your home, your HVAC system is prone to wear and tear. If you notice your utility bills keep going up or there is the presence of hot and cold pockets in the room, it is high time you consider hvac repairs to lower your utility bills. New HVAC systems have higher efficiency levels plus they require less maintenance. So, ensure you reach out to a reputable air conditioning service near you to help upgrade your system,
Invest in outlet covers
Outlets allow warm air to seep out of your home and let cold air from the outdoors inside. As a result, your heating and cooling system have to work overtime to regulate the temperatures in your house. To nip this problem in the bud, use plastic outlet covers to stop airflow if you feel a cold breeze originating from any outlets.
Use cold water to wash your clothes
Did you know that up 75% of the energy in your washing machine goes to warming up the water? Yes, you can cut back on your utility bills by washing your laundry with cold water since it is equally as effective as hot water in removing stains. Only use hot or lukewarm water on fabrics that specifically instruct you to steer clear of washing them with cold water.
Set your dishwasher to run at night
You will be shocked to find out that your utility bills are more expensive during peak hours. This is because utility providers aim to hike their rates when almost everyone is using appliances such as dishwashers. It would be best to run your dishwasher at night when everyone is asleep and set a timer to switch off after the dishes are clean.
Wrapping up
Apart from cutting down on energy consumption in your home and saving more money, lowering the utility bills is also good for the environment. Today's temperatures keep fluctuating more than usual during the seasons, which is an excellent reminder that we need to be more mindful about how we consume power.
